In
music
Music is generally defined as the art of arranging sound to create some combination of form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise expressive content. Exact definitions of music vary considerably around the world, though it is an aspect ...
and
music theory
Music theory is the study of the practices and possibilities of music. ''The Oxford Companion to Music'' describes three interrelated uses of the term "music theory". The first is the "rudiments", that are needed to understand music notation (ke ...
, a polychord consists of two or more
chords, one on top of the other. In shorthand they are written with the top chord above a line and the bottom chord below,
[Policastro, Michael A. (1999). ''Understanding How to Build Guitar Chords and Arpeggios'', p. 168. .] for example F upon C: .
The use of polychords may suggest
bitonality Polytonality (also polyharmony) is the musical use of more than one key simultaneously. Bitonality is the use of only two different keys at the same time. Polyvalence or polyvalency is the use of more than one harmonic function, from the same key, a ...
or polytonality.
Harmonic parallelism
In music, parallel harmony, also known as harmonic parallelism, harmonic planing or parallel voice leading, is the parallel movement of two or more melodies (see voice leading).
Illustrative example
Lines with parallel harmony can be viewed as ...
may suggest bichords.
Examples may be found in
Igor Stravinsky
Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky (6 April 1971) was a Russian composer, pianist and conductor, later of French (from 1934) and American (from 1945) citizenship. He is widely considered one of the most important and influential composers of the ...
's ''
Petrushka
Petrushka ( rus, Петру́шка, p=pʲɪtˈruʂkə, a=Ru-петрушка.ogg) is a stock character of Russian folk puppetry. Italian puppeteers introduced it in the first third of the 19th century. While most core characters came from Italy ...
'', p. 15, and ''
Rite of Spring'', "Dance of the Adolescents" (1921) (see
Petrushka chord
The Petrushka chord is a recurring polytonal device used in Igor Stravinsky's ballet '' Petrushka'' and in later music. These two major triads, C major and F major – a tritone apart – clash, "horribly with each other", when sounded together ...
).
In the polychords in the image above, the first might suggest a
thirteenth chord
In music or music theory, a thirteenth is the note thirteen scale degrees from the root of a chord and also the interval between the root and the thirteenth. The interval can be also described as a compound sixth, spanning an octave pl ...
, the second may suggest a D minor
ninth chord
In music theory, a ninth chord is a chord that encompasses the interval of a ninth when arranged in close position with the root in the bass.
Heinrich Schenker and also Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov allowed the substitution of the dominant seve ...
with upper extensions, but the octave separation of the 3rd makes the suggestion of two independent triads a minor ninth apart even more likely, and the fourth is a
split-third chord.
Extended chord
In music, extended chords are certain chords (built from thirds) or triads with notes ''extended'', or added, beyond the seventh. Ninth, eleventh, and thirteenth chords are extended chords. The thirteenth is the farthest extension diatonical ...
s contain more than one
triad, and so can be regarded as a type of polychord:
For example G
7119 (G–B–D–F–A–C) is formed from G major (G–B–D) and D major (D–F–A), or .
(C ≡ D)
The
Lydian augmented scale
Lydian may refer to:
* Lydians, an ancient people of Anatolia
* Lydian language, an ancient Anatolian language
* Lydian alphabet
** Lydian (Unicode block)
* Lydian (typeface), a decorative typeface
* Lydian dominant scale or acoustic scale, a mu ...
, "has a polychord sound built in," created by superimposing the Caug and the E () and/or Fdim () triads that exist in the scale, this being, "a very common practice for most
bop and
post-bop
Post-bop is a genre of small-combo jazz that evolved in the early to mid 1960s in the United States. Pioneers of the genre, such as Miles Davis, Charles Mingus, Wayne Shorter, Herbie Hancock, John Coltrane and Jackie McLean, crafted syntheses ...
players
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[Munro (2002), p. 38.]
Examples of extended chords include the Elektra chord.
When one or both of the chords in a polychord are not "chords" in some exclusive sense according to some preferred chord theory or other, polychords devolves into Chordioid, chordioid technique.
See also
*
Secundal
In music or music theory, secundal is the quality of a chord made from seconds, and anything related to things constructed from seconds such as counterpoint. Secundal chords are often called tone clusters more generally, especially when non-diat ...
*
Tertian
In music theory, ''tertian'' ( la, tertianus, "of or concerning thirds") describes any piece, chord, counterpoint etc. constructed from the intervals of (major and minor) thirds. An interval such as that between the notes A and C encompasses 3 ...
*
Quartal
*
Upper structure In jazz, the term upper structure or "upper structure triad" refers to a voicing approach developed by jazz pianists and arrangers defined by the sounding of a major or minor triad in the uppermost pitches of a more complex harmony.Ellenberger, K ...
*
Chordioid A chordioid, also called ''chord fragment'' or ''fragmentary voicing''Rawlins, Robert, et al. (2005) ''Jazzology: The Encyclopedia of Jazz Theory for All Musicians'', p. 86. Winona: Hal Leonard. . or ''partial voicing'', is a group of musical note ...
References
{{Chords
Chords
Post-tonal music theory